396 Ch. 23. 1778 ATTEMPT ON RHODE ISLAND. resulted in failure, but in such failure as had well DEFECTION OF THE FRENCH. 1778 397 tion of Lafayette, delivered an indignant protest Ch. 23. against the departure of the French fleet under circumstances which must occasion the ruin of the enterprise. The Count d'Estaing, a proud and punctilious officer, highly resented a remonstrance which he considered alike presumptuous and disrespectful. He told the aide-de-camp, by whom it was presented, that the paper was such as imposed upon the Commander of the King's squadron the painful but necessary duty of profound silence. And he immediately set sail for Boston. the French The Americans viewed the departure of the Departure of French fleet with feelings of rage and disappoint- fleet. ment; and General Sullivan was so rash as to give expression to these feelings in a General Order. Desertions from the American lines were the immediate consequence of this mortifying defection on the part of the French. Three thousand volunteers went off in a body; and in a few days, Sullivan's army was reduced in point of numbers to a level with the besieged. It was hopeless, therefore, to proceed; indeed, the only question with the invaders was, how they could best retreat from their perilous position. Nor did they effect this object without considerable loss. enterprise. The failure of an enterprise so hopeful, caused Failure of the deep disappointment; and Washington's estimate of it may be gathered from the following passage in a letter to his brother: An unfortunate storm, 398 Ch. 23. 1778 WASHINGTON'S LETTER TO and some measures taken in consequence of it by the French Admiral, blasted in one moment the fairest hopes that ever were conceived; and from a moral certainty of success, rendered it a matter of rejoicing to get our own troops safe off the island. If the garrison of that place, consisting of nearly six thousand men, had been captured, as there was in appearance at least a hundred to one in favour of it, it would have given the finishing blow to British pretensions of sovereignty over this country; and would, I am persuaded, have hastened the departure of the troops in New York as fast their canvas wings could carry them away.' Washington, however, used every effort to allay the irritation caused by the conduct of the French. He wrote to Sullivan and Greene, urging them to discourage all angry observations, and to cultivate the utmost harmony and good will with their French allies; and he addressed a letter to the Count d'Estaing, dictated in the most complimentary and respectful terms. The haughty Frenchman, however, resenting the insolence of the Americans, had no sooner repaired the damage done to his fleet, than he showed his utter contempt for the allies whose purposes he was expected to serve. He issued a proclamation to the people of Canada, inviting them to return to the allegiance of his sovereign. He then set sail for the West Indies, leaving the Americans e W. IRVING'S Life of Washington, vol. iii. 464. COUNT D'ESTAING. to form their own plans, and fight their own battles. The Congress, however, which had for some time past substantially delegated the conduct of the war to a committee, were so infatuated by the French alliance, that they urged upon Washington the expediency of co-operating with a French force in the reduction of Canada; and it was not without difficulty that they yielded at length to the reasons by which Washington demonstrated that such an undertaking would only dissipate the energies and resources of the States for an object in which they had no interest. 399 Ch. 23. 1778 of 1778. The remainder of the campaign of 1778 was. The campaign frittered away in affairs of little importance, and none of which were attended with any practical result. Sir Henry Clinton sent out marauding parties, which achieved various small successes. Inferior posts were surprised, detachments were cut off, prisoners were taken; but the royal cause, so far from being advanced, was rather retarded by the wanton destruction of the enemy's property, and the irregularities which are usually committed by detached parties in an enemy's country. One act in particular, for which the British army were not responsible, nevertheless redounded to the prejudice of the cause in which they were engaged. The settlement of Wyoming, in the beautiful valley of the Susquehanna, was one of the most favoured spots in the continent of North America. A mild and fertile climate 400 1778 INDIAN MERCENARIES. Ch. 23. yielded in abundance all the necessaries of life, while a noble river formed one of the great natural highways of the country. Yet this region, so rich in the gifts of nature, was almost rendered uninhabitable by the perverseness of man. The rival States of Connecticut and Pennsylvania contended for so fair a district; and the discord of civil war was afterwards complicated by the divisions of Tories and Republicans. The Tories, being the weaker party, were driven from the Settlement; exasperated by ill usage, they joined a horde of Indians, and, led by Brandt, a semi-barbarous chief, they descended upon the valley, seized the military defences, and put the garrison to the sword. Another garrison having surrendered at discretion, the militia were massacred, with all the circumstances of treachery and cruelty which usually accompanied the triumphs of savages. Many houses, from which the inmates were not allowed to escape, were set on fire. Property of every description, including the fruits of the earth, was ruthlessly destroyed. The cattle were tortured and put to death. These outrages provoked retaliation. Settlements of royalists in Pennsylvania were attacked and destroyed by American detachments, but without the wanton cruelties perpetrated by the savages. The French disliked by the Ameri cans. Two expeditions of importance were despatched by Sir Henry Clinton. The one was to the small southern state of Georgia, the other was against |